Oldest Living Washington State Trooper Wants You To Know This...

He stays active, attending Rotary meetings almost every week. He stays fit, weighing little more than when he was a rookie cop. And he studiously avoids a mistake that he saw take far too many lives.

"I don't drink and drive, and you shouldn't either," Rupp said. "There's no faster way to an early grave."

Rupp is the State Patrol's oldest living retired trooper. He also served three terms as Benton County Sheriff. During his time in law enforcement he responded to hundreds of DUI collisions and made far more death notifications than he would have liked.

He says telling family members that a loved one wouldn't be coming home was the hardest part of his job.

"Collisions and arrests become a blur, but I remember every death notification I've ever made," he said. "The frustrating part is that it's all unnecessary. There's no need to drink and drive. There's no reason, and there's no excuse."

Rupp joined State Patrol Chief John Batiste in Kennewick today, to sound a warning for the upcoming Labor Day weekend.

"If you choose to drink and drive this weekend, we will do our best to save your life, and others', by arresting you," Batiste said. "We want to help you live to be Bob Rupp's age."

Four people died in collisions over the Labor Day weekend last year. Five died during the same period in 2008.

"Our goal this year is zero," Batiste said. "We believe there's no reason for anyone to die in a traffic collision. All that's required is for people to make better choices."

This Labor Day's strategy also includes the general public. Batiste and Rupp are asking members of the public to report apparently intoxicated drivers.

"If you see someone who is obviously impaired and behind the wheel, that is an emergency. It's legal to use your cell phone to call 9-1-1 and we hope you will," Batiste said.

There were no cell phones in Bob Rupp's day.

"It wasn't until nearly the end of my career that we even had reliable two-way radio coverage," said Rupp. "I wonder how many lives we could have saved had citizens been able to report drunk drivers right from their cars?"

One more thing that WSP didn't have in Rupp's day: the ability to detect drivers who were impaired by drugs other than alcohol.

Both Batiste and Rupp recall arresting people who could hardly walk, let alone drive. Yet they registered a zero on breath testing machines.

"Now I know those people were likely impaired by some drug other than alcohol. In those days, we had no way to measure that, so we had to let those people go," Batiste said.

Batiste says nowadays almost every police agency has Drug Recognition Experts (DREs), courtesy of a training program administered by the State Patrol. Certified by the courts as experts they're usually able to name the exact drug based on physical symptoms shown by drug-impaired drivers.

Also on the road this weekend will be high-ranking WSP officials. In a tradition dating back to Rupp's era, senior commanders and troopers with non-line positions will be on the road for at least some portion of the weekend.

A man, claiming to be "the spawn of Lucifer," said he stabbed an eight-year-old boy because he "felt like he had to kill a child" and that it was "almost like a sacrifice." 30-year-old Bruce Derek Landahl was arrested Saturday for allegedly entering the HiCo store on Sprague, walking up to an eight-year-old boy playing on an iPad and stabbing him multiple times before the boy's father was able to stop him.

A man, claiming to be "the spawn of Lucifer," said he stabbed an eight-year-old boy because he "felt like he had to kill a child" and that it was "almost like a sacrifice." 30-year-old Bruce Derek Landahl was arrested Saturday for allegedly entering the HiCo store on Sprague, walking up to an eight-year-old boy playing on an iPad and stabbing him multiple times before the boy's father was able to stop him.

JBS USA has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns about possible e-coli contamination. The products have the establishment number Est.628 and were produced on October 24th. Products that were recalled were shipped to distributors in retail locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

JBS USA has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef due to concerns about possible e-coli contamination. The products have the establishment number Est.628 and were produced on October 24th. Products that were recalled were shipped to distributors in retail locations in California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Several locals are trying to help the family of an eight-year-old boy, who was randomly stabbed at a gas station Saturday. Rayel Von Quade said she and three others (Salem Rose Sovereign, Quincey Brooks and Dani Loup) have been in touch with the Bush family. (KHQ has reached out to the family and have not heard back.) "They're, of course, very overwhelmed and stressed out right now and she's been dealing with a lot of messages from a lot of people coming through. But she says t...

Several locals are trying to help the family of an eight-year-old boy, who was randomly stabbed at a gas station Saturday. Rayel Von Quade said she and three others (Salem Rose Sovereign, Quincey Brooks and Dani Loup) have been in touch with the Bush family. (KHQ has reached out to the family and have not heard back.) "They're, of course, very overwhelmed and stressed out right now and she's been dealing with a lot of messages from a lot of people coming through. But she says t...

FORT WORTH, Texas - Police in the Fort Worth area say a 2-year-old girl died after a caregiver hit her with a belt and burned her buttocks for discipline. Police were called to an apartment in Arlington early Saturday because a child wasn't breathing. Aniyah Darnell was pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.

FORT WORTH, Texas - Police in the Fort Worth area say a 2-year-old girl died after a caregiver hit her with a belt and burned her buttocks for discipline. Police were called to an apartment in Arlington early Saturday because a child wasn't breathing. Aniyah Darnell was pronounced dead at a hospital. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.

TRENTON, N.J. - An attorney for a woman charged with scamming GoFundMe donors with a story about a homeless veteran says she was duped by her former boyfriend. James Gerrow tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that Mark D'Amico was "calling the shots." Gerrow says Katelyn McClure thought she was helping Marine vet Johnny Bobbitt.

TRENTON, N.J. - An attorney for a woman charged with scamming GoFundMe donors with a story about a homeless veteran says she was duped by her former boyfriend. James Gerrow tells ABC's "Good Morning America" that Mark D'Amico was "calling the shots." Gerrow says Katelyn McClure thought she was helping Marine vet Johnny Bobbitt.